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Robert Harrison and Jane Hoelscher

Episode 2774 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Vietnam Vet Robert Harrison and his daughter’s service to our country in the Army. The featured story appeared on The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Vietnam Veteran’s Daughter Follows in His Footsteps. It was submitted by Skip Vaughn, an editor with the Redstone Rocket.

In his story, Vaughn reported that Jane Hoelscher remembers her fifth-grade teacher in Michigan calling her dad a “baby killer” for being a soldier in Vietnam in 1965-66. She remembers the protesters at the airport spitting in her dad’s face when he returned home.

She remembers two soldiers mistakenly coming to her house in 1968 to tell them that her dad had been killed in Vietnam even though he was at work at his steel mill job. But none of that stopped Hoelscher from joining the Army in 1975.

Her father, Robert Harrison, first served from 1952-54, before marrying her mother. He joined again in 1956 and served until 1966. He left active duty as a staff sergeant when he returned home in 1966, and he retired from the Army Reserve in 1981 as a first sergeant. Harrison, a heavy smoker, died in 1983 from a massive heart attack. He was 53.

Jane Hoelscher stated this “I believe that the military gave me integrity, dignity, respect – respect for myself and respect for others – and a firm work ethic.”

She shared her thoughts on this nation’s commemoration of 50 years since the Vietnam War.

“We have to learn from our mistakes,” she said. “And we have to face the challenges of the next century. We have to use technology to make our lives better, but technology doesn’t need to rule our lives.”

Listen to episode 2774 and discover more about Army Vietnam Vet Robert Harrison and his daughter’s service to our country in the Army.

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Van Nguyen-Marshall

Episode 2773 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about modern Vietnam historian, Van Nguyen-Marshall and her new book “Between war and the state: civil society in South Vietnam, 1954-1975”.

Andy Pham, a good friend of this podcast, joins this episode with his guests Van Nguyen-Marshall and Cody Billock. They will be discussing Van Nguyen-Marshall’s new book. Billock will be asking the author about her book.

Van Nguyen-Marshall is an Associate Professor at Trent University in Ontario, Canada. She has published on both colonial and post-colonial Vietnam, exploring discourses and practices relating to charity, volunteerism, civic work, political activism, and wartime experiences of civilians. Her forthcoming book, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam (Cornell), examines the dynamic associational life of South Vietnam’s residents as they coped with warfare, national division, government repression, and foreign intervention.

Cory Billock

In her book In Between War and the State, Van Nguyen-Marshall examines an array of voluntary activities, including mutual-help, professional, charitable, community development, student, women’s, and rights organizations active in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. By bringing focus to the public lives of South Vietnamese people, Between War and the State challenges persistent stereotypes of South Vietnam as a place without society or agency. Such robust associational life underscores how an active civil society survived despite difficulties imposed by the war, government restrictions, economic hardship, and external political forces. These competing political forces, which included the United States, Western aid agencies, and Vietnamese communist agents, created a highly competitive arena wherein the South Vietnamese state did not have a monopoly on persuasive or coercive power.

The book can be purchased at Cornell Press or by calling 800-848-6224.

Use the code 09exp40 and receive a 40% discount on your purchase.

Listen to episode 2773 and discover more about modern Vietnam historian, Van Nguyen-Marshall and her new book “Between war and the state: civil society in South Vietnam, 1954-1975”.

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Episode 2772 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Vietnam Vet Homer Hickam and how he served his country in and out of uniform. The featured story appeared on The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Vietnam War Was Learning Experience for Renowned Author. It was submitted by Skip Vaughn, an editor with the Redstone Rocket.

In his story, Vaughn reported that Homer Hickam joined the Army in January 1966 under a college option program which promised to send him to Officer Candidate School if he successfully completed basic training and advanced individual training.

The Virginia Tech product went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for eight weeks of basic training and eight more weeks of advanced individual training in infantry and engineering. Next came 23 weeks of Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Stone enlisted in April 1967. He requested combat duty and that’s exactly what he got. He arrived in South Vietnam Sept. 16, 1967, assigned as an infantryman to the, 25th Infantry Division (The Tropic Lightning), stationed near the Cambodian border.

Hickam said “Vietnam was a learning experience. It was a learning experience on how people react under extreme pressure. I actually learned how good people can be under that kind of pressure. I just saw men under extreme pressure. They never broke. I learned a renewed pride in America.”

“I would hope that the American people would show gratitude to the men and women who served over there,” Hickam said. “In many cases, they gave their lives. People went because they thought it was the right thing to do. Honor the men and women willing to do that at a time when so many were not willing to.”

Listen to episode 2772 and discover more about Army Vietnam Vet Homer Hickam and how he served his country in and out of uniform.

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Oliver Stone in South Vietnam, sometime in 1967 or 1968.

Episode 2771 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Vietnam Vet Oliver Stone along with his books and movies. The featured story appeared on The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Film Director Oliver Stone Was a Soldier in Vietnam. It was submitted by David Vergun, a writer for DOD News.

Vergun in his story, reported that Acclaimed screenwriter and director Oliver Stone, whose work includes “Wall Street” (1987), “The Doors” (1991), “JFK” (1991) and “Nixon” (1995), served in the Army and deployed to Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. His wartime experiences would shape some of his later films.

Stone enlisted in April 1967. He requested combat duty and that’s exactly what he got. He arrived in South Vietnam Sept. 16, 1967, assigned as an infantryman to the, 25th Infantry Division (The Tropic Lightning), stationed near the Cambodian border.

He was wounded twice in combat and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor. His wounds were either a bullet or shrapnel to the neck and the other was shrapnel to the legs and buttocks.

Regarding the Bronze Star, Stone wrote about it in his rather long-titled book: “Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game.”

After recovering from a wound, he transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division and was assigned to a long-range reconnaissance platoon. On Jan. 1, 1968, Stone’s platoon, part of two battalions, was patrolling along the Cambodian border. That night, they came under a massive attack from a North Vietnamese regiment which outnumbered them.

Oliver Stone said about the killing in Vietnam: I was too young to understand. No person should ever have to witness so much death.”

Stone was honorably discharged in November 1968. The Vietnam GI Bill helped pay for his enrollment in New York University, where he studied filmmaking under Martin Scorsese.

Listen to episode 2771 and discover more about Army Vietnam Vet Oliver Stone and his books and movies.

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Gen. Daniel Hokanson, left, chief of the National Guard Bureau, presents retired Army Capt. Larry Liss with a Silver Star citation during a ceremony March 5, 2024, at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa.

Episode 2770 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Capt. Larry Liss and why is Distinguished Flying Cross was upgraded to a Silver Star. The featured story comes from The U.S. Army website and was titled: National Guard chief presents Silver Star to Vietnam veteran. It was submitted by Brad Rhen of the Joint Force Headquarters, Pennsylvania National Guard.

Rhen in his story, reported that Nearly 57 years after rescuing more than 80 U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War, retired Army Capt. Larry Liss received the Silver Star medal.

Liss originally received a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. But thanks to the persistence of his brother, Art Liss, and several members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, that medal was upgraded to a Silver Star.

At a March 5 ceremony at Valley Forge Military Academy, Liss said he was accepting the award for every helicopter pilot who has ever flown a combat mission.

“I don’t think anybody realizes what it means to be a helicopter pilot in combat,” he said. “I’ve been on the ground. I know what it’s like on the ground, but at least on the ground, I could hide. You can’t hide in a helicopter, and these guys and women flying these helicopters, I just know nobody knows, they don’t realize, you’re exposed.”

Liss received the award for his actions on May 4, 1967. That afternoon, Liss and his copilot, Tom Baca, flew a chaplain to Cau Song Be outside Tay Ninh City. While there, they learned that North Vietnamese soldiers were poised to overrun a nearby U.S. special operations outpost with roughly 100 South Vietnamese soldiers and a small group of Green Berets.

Listen to episode 2770 and discover more about Army Capt. Larry Liss and why is Distinguished Flying Cross was upgraded to a Silver Star.

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President Donald J. Trump places the Medal of Honor around the neck of retired Army Capt. Gary M. Rose during a ceremony at the White House, Oct. 23, 2017. DoD photo by C. Todd Lopez

Episode 2769 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army MACV-SOG Capt. Gary Michael Rose and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Awarded to Army Captain for Actions in Laos. It was submitted by C. Todd Lopez, a writer for the Army News Service

Lopez, in his story, reported that more than 50 years after his heroic actions in Laos during the Vietnam War, Army Capt. Gary Michael Rose was recognized with the Medal of Honor.

On October 23, 2017, in a White House ceremony, President Donald J. Trump presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to retired Army Capt. Gary M. Rose.

President Trump said this at the event: “This will enshrine him into the history of our nation,” said President Donald J. Trump, during the Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday at the White House.

Rose served as a combat medic during the Vietnam War with the Military Assistance Command Studies and Observations Group, part of Army Special Forces. He was recognized for his actions between Sept. 11-14, 1970, in Laos. The mission he was part of, “Operation Tailwind,” had for many years been classified.

Following the Medal of Honor ceremony, Rose said he believed the medal he received was not only for him, but for all those who served — especially those who had fought in combat but who had not been able to be recognized due to the classified nature of their operations.

Rose said this about the award “This award, which I consider a collective medal, is for all of the men, to include the Air Force and the Marines who helped us.  This is our medal. We all earned it.”

Listen to episode 2769 and discover more about Army MACV-SOG Capt. Gary Michael Rose and his Congressional Medal of Honor award honors.

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1st Lt Russell A. Steindam and PFC Jose Santa Cruz.

Episode 2768 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature an interview with Colin Kimball who will tell about his passion for honoring our fallen heroes. In the interview he will describe in detail a method he uses to create updated and honorable images of our fallen military heroes.

Kimball tells about the Medal of Honor recipient, 1^st Lt Russell A. Steindam who hails from Plano, Texas that inspired him to take on the project of honoring our fallen military heroes. He also tells the story of PFC Jose Santa Cruz. They both served with B Troop 3^rd Squadron 4^th Cavalry, 25^th Infantry Division.

Russell Albert Steindam (August 27, 1946 – February 1, 1970) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military’s highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Russell grew up in Plano, where his family moved when he was five years old. He graduated at the top of his class from Plano High School before entering the University of Texas.The Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas is named after Lieutenant Steindam.

Jose Santa Cruz was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in 1949. He moved to Glendale at a young age and went on to graduate from Glendale High School in 1968. He joined the US Army two months later.

As they attempted to make a surprise attack, PFC Santa Cruz spotted an enemy grenade as it landed near his platoon leader. PFC Santa Cruz instinctly threw himself between the grenade and his platoon leader and took the blunt force of the grenade blast. He died instantly of his wounds as he saved the life of his platoon leader. For his actions, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross

Listen to episode 2768 and discover more about Colin Kimball and his passion for honoring our fallen heroes.

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C-123 Applying Agent Orange in Vietnam,

Episode 2767 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the proposed expanded Agent Orange care by the VA. The featured story appeared in the Military Officer Magazine and was titled: VA Aims to Expand Agent Orange Care. It was submitted by Cory Titus, MOAA director of Government Relations for servicemember compensation and veteran benefits.

The VA has issued a proposed new rule that would significantly broaden the locations and time periods for which veterans are presumed exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides.

This year, the VA is looking at expanded health care access to a wider group of veterans not previously recognized as exposed to Agent Orange and other toxic hazards.

If the proposed rule is finalized the VA will add a presumption of herbicide exposure for veterans who served in certain areas of the U.S., Canada and India, in addition to existing presumptive locations in Vietnam and surrounding territories and other parts of Asia.

The VA Secretary Denis McDonough said this about the development: “This proposed change would make it easier for veterans exposed to herbicides who served outside Vietnam to access the benefits they so rightly deserve.”

Veterans who served at one of the newly covered herbicide locations should file a disability claim if diagnosed with any of the associated conditions.

The Agent Orange Exposure conditions include the following:

• AL Amyloidosis
• Bladder Cancer
• Chronic B-cell Leukemias
• Chloracne (or similar acneform disease)
• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
• Hodgkin’s Disease
• Hypothyroidism
• Ischemic Heart Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
• Prostate Cancer
• Respiratory Cancers (includes lung cancer)
• Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)

For more information about the proposed expanded Agent Orange coverage to this site: www.va.gov/pact

Listen to episode 2767 and discover more about the proposed expanded Agent Orange care by the VA.

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Connie Dugan Popel shows her scrapbook of pictures from her year in Vietnam in 1969-1970 as a member of the Donut Dollies with the American Red Cross.

Episode 2766 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Donut Dollie Connie Dugan Popel and her service to our country.  The featured story appeared on the U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled ‘Donut Dollie’ Brought Smiles to Troops in Vietnam. It was submitted by Skip Vaughn, editor of the Redstone Rocket.

Connie Dugan Popel was a recreation aide for the American Red Cross for a year-long tour. Of the 1,200 women who worked for the American Red Cross in Vietnam throughout the Vietnam War, 627 were part of the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas Program — better known as the “Donut Dollies” — who were there from 1965-72.

Popel was a college senior in Ohio majoring in sociology when she saw a recruitment poster for Donut Dollies on a bulletin board. “No. 1, the big thing was I didn’t know what to do after college. Then, I saw the poster and I thought, ‘This sounds fascinating,'” she said. “Plus I love to travel. And I was used to family game nights at home.”

A recreation background was not required, just a college degree. The military wanted a group of young women to go to Vietnam to develop troop morale programs at the request of Gen. William Westmoreland, the then-commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam.

“I think my role [as a Donut Dollie] was to be myself,” Popel said, “I’m known for my smile and I smiled and smiled and smiled. And I think that I represented maybe an American girl who cared, who hoped that I brought some kind of happiness for a second in a horrible, horrible war.”

“It was the best year of my life,” she said. “I was very naive. But I grew up, like we all did.

Listen to episode 2766 and discover more about Donut Dollie Connie Dugan Popel and her service to our country.

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Dennis Franz in Vietnam in 1968. ,

Episode 2765 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Dennis Franz, the Vietnam Vet who became a popular TV star and a well known spokesman for veterans. The featured story appeared on the U.S. Department of Defense website and was titledFrom Battle to Hit Shows: This Actor Served in the Vietnam War . It was submitted by David Vergun.

Actor Dennis Franz is best known for portraying a TV detective and starring in numerous blockbuster films in the 1970s through the 1990s.

Less known, is that Franz was a soldier who served in combat during the height of the Vietnam War. Franz was born in Maywood, Illinois, on Oct. 28, 1944.

His parents were German immigrants. Franz’s mother, Eleanor, was of Jewish descent and was a postal worker. His father, Franz Ferdinand Schlachta, was a postal worker as well as a baker. Schlachta was of German and Polish descent.

Actor Dennis Franz at a rehearsal for the 1994 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

During Franz’s high school years, he participated in baseball, football and swimming. He attended Wilbur Wright College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, graduating from the latter in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater.

In 1968, he was drafted into the Army and served 11 months with two divisions in South Vietnam: the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division.

When Franz learned he was being sent to Vietnam, he said he had mixed feelings. He said he was curious about military life, but he was also scared of being killed or injured in the Vietnam War.

Franz said combat was a traumatic, life-changing experience, particularly losing close friends. He recalled being in multiple firefights and sometimes not knowing where the bullets were coming from.

Franz said “Having gone through it, having lived through it, it changed my outlook on life.” He added that he would “not trade his wartime experience for anything.”

Listen to episode 2765 and discover more about Dennis Franz, the Vietnam Vet who became a popular TV star and a well known spokesman for veterans.